#your analysis was perfect 👌🏻

[gildengirl]

This ^^^

I cannot articulate how perfect this analysis is. For Rachel, but also for Abby. Specifically the whole "nah, I'm the aunt who's had my fair share of leather jacket wearing smirking green eyed cuties at her age and I smell trouble and I'm going to say something about it" part. Like yes, 100%. The interaction on the train in DJGC always made me think that, as well as Abby's character in general. And not to bring up another kind of GG—but if anyone's familiar with Gilmore Girls it feels similar to Lorelai's initial feelings towards Jess because he reminds her of the kind of guy who would've broken her heart at that age. (I get such strong Lorelai Gilmore vibes from Abigail Cameron, or maybe it's the other way around but that could be an entire post in itself haha.)

However, I also think she warned Cammie to stay away from Zach because of the fact that Catherine is his mother, and because of that and Blackthorne he was connected to The Circle. Also, not to go to far down the Abby and Townsend rabbit hole, but we know that they knew each other for at least two years prior to the whole train scene in DJGC and we know that Townsend was working non-stop towards taking down The Circle and killing/stopping Catherine. So I kinda headcanon that maybe in the years Abby was gone she was working with him to help track The Circle, maybe as a way of dealing with Matt's death, looking for the same answers he was (again my thoughts on that could be it's own post). Which I think could explain her initial reaction to Zach being so close to Cammie, maybe she's seen first hand the consequences of being close to The Circle, we know she saw that in Matt's case, and she'll never let herself forget that.

Which I also think explains what Abby says right before she tells Cammie to stay away from Zach, after Cammie breaks down and calls out Abby for leaving as asks her why she left and where she was and we get this:

"Why weren't you there when we needed you?" "Haven't you learned yet, Cam?" Abby's voice was softer now, as if she were being dragged back into a dream. "There are some things you don't want to know."

If it wasn't already clear that this scene broke my heart and I will never get over it, then I hope it is now. But going back to Abby's feelings towards Zach, we know they change over the series, even by the end of DJGC, Abby hands Cammie Zach's jacket with the note (which she totally knew was in there, come on, she's a super-spy and an aunt) so she's starting to come around. And I think her feelings change for the same reason Rachel's do: Zach's not The Circle, he's not his mother, and most importantly he is so in love with Cammie and he wants to keep her safe. And idk, maybe Zach reminds Abby of someone she loves.... 👀

So, first of all, ummm thank you?? I teared up when I first read this, and definitely did while responding too. Also, thanks for your patience in literally a whole year for this? AND, I’m sorry, I didn’t quite write a fic for it, just some more general musings on the subject? I’m gonna dive quite a bit more into Rachel/Zach and all of the adults with Zach in my little baby Zach series, so I hope that answers more of this, when the time comes but for now...

So, I think I share the same sentiments as many that by the end of UWS, Rachel has grown to love Zach quite a bit. He’s one of her ducklings, one of the many people she cares deeply and strongly for. 

However, I think she absolutely had similar thoughts as Abby for quite awhile - she just approached them in a sort of way only Mom Rachel Morgan could. And maybe she didn’t trust Zach because of his mom, or his school, or a long list of reasons, but I honestly think it comes down to one very simple thing:

He was a teenage boy. 

And like, I don’t think Rachel was gonna be head over heels about her daughter seeing Zach, or any boy for that matter - BUT she’s Rachel and knows that it’s pointless to tell her daughter (or any of those girls) no about something like seeing a boy. I mean, basically the first rule of teenage girlhood is to absolutely date the bad boy your parents tell you you’re forbidden to see. And maybe her and Abby discussed this - maybe they discussed it all. The mom, the school, the badboy of it all. Maybe Abby saw Rachel taking her little more lax approach (see why, below) and Abby said "nah, I'm the aunt who's had my fair share of leather jacket wearing smirking green eyed cuties at her age and I smell trouble and I'm going to say something about it."

Also, it’s not like Rachel has paperwork to do, or a whole giant school to run, or you know, this guy from her past who’s comparable to Indiana Jones all up in her business (who has his own secrets she wants to know BTW), but no, that’s not enough - she just had to spend an entire semester pretending like her daughter wasn’t sneaking out to see a boy, falling in love, and getting heartbroken. 

Which leads me to - Rachel just watched her daughter fall in love for the first time and then get her heart hurt. Why? Because she wanted to do this job more, than have a normal life with a boy. So, who is she to stand in the way of a boy Cammie could be with, if that’s what she wanted? A boy who knows her school and this life and dances a pretty mean waltz and hold on, did he just make her laugh actually? 

I think Zach being inside those walls, under her nose, with The Joe Solomon stamp of approval (I mean, who all have truly, really gotten this stamp? Matthew Morgan and....? Yeah. that's what I thought.) was all it really took to be honest. Did she jump for joy and open her arms immediately? No. She's Rachel. I think she had to do what Rachel does - learn more, observe, and most importantly, trust her gut. 

I think that when she looks at Zach, she gets a little sliver of open doorway into a part of Joe she doesn’t get to see often. I think she’s reminded that you are not your family if you don’t want to be, that your past doesn’t dictate your future, that first impressions can be misleading. I think Zach surprises Rachel, just like Joe did, and continues to surprise her, and surprising Rachel Morgan is impressive, and no easy feat. 

But, the most important thing that I think of in terms of Rachel approving of Zach?

She watched that kid fall head over heels in love with her daughter - protect her, defend her, risk everything to save her and be with her, breakdown because of her - but still get up and fight for her...

Rachel loves Zach because Zach loves Cammie, and it's as simple as that at the end of the day 💙